War Heroes
by HellsBellsBella
Summary: France, 1944. "Hurry now, there won't be much more time until this place is full of injured army men...pace yourselves girls." Lindsay sighed, remembering the death of beloved Lieutenant Jasper Caine, he had been a wonderful man.
1. LT Taylor

Disclaimer- I own nothing

_This is during WWII, I love war stories, no idea why..but I keep spewing out stories at the moment. hope you enjoy._

_Other characters will come in later. -Natalie_

It was the summer of 1944. The war would soon be ending, but Lindsay knew there would me many a casualty once the Hospitals filled up. She had been working as a nurse for three years now, she had dealt with almost everything, she had even had a patient who had a kind soul, she had enjoyed tending to him each day, but his injuries had been very bad, and he'd died after being in the hospital for three weeks. She had been scared silly when she'd opened the curtain surrounding his bed to find a new patient, she'd waited untill she was alone to mourn his death, Lieutenant Jasper Caine had been his name, he had been living in Cansas with his mother and younger sister before he had been enlisted, his father had died during WWI, leaving him to look after his young Mother and Sister. She had mourned for them too, they had lost their protecter to an unrelenting war, maybe when the war ended she'd visit them, tell them of the Lieutenant's last few weeks. She had remembered his injuries, the doctors were given no choice but to amputate his left arm, he'd been blown up, literally..he'd lost his arm, had been recovering from internal bleeding, she'd changed his bandages every day, making sure his wounds were thoroughly clean so he wouldn't get an infection, but he'd died because of complications with the healing from the internal bleeding. Well that was what Doctor Sheldon Hawkes had told her, she had quite a few friends around the hospital, her best friend was from Greek-Italian decent and she had been an orphan, but as soon as she entered school, she began the training to become a nurse, her name was Stella, and Lindsay had never met a girl quite so beautiful. Stella had rich olive skin and thick curly brown hair. She was an honest and great friend in the lonely world of nurses.

There were a few other doctors she knew of in their base, but not many, she knew Peyton Driscoll. Only because she had been a nurse in the OR for some time a few weeks back, but she had been reassigned to patients soon after a week had passed.

Nurse Jane Fowler rushed into the room, holding a checkboard.

"Right, I need everyone at their assigned posts. The army soldiers have just come in." As soon as Nurse Fowler had left the room, everyone began rushing.

Lindsay joined the que, waiting to collect her assignment chart which told her who she'd be tending to for the next few weeks, or however long it took for the patient to recover. It took another fifteen minutes before she was at the front of the que. Nurse Evangeline Whittaker handed Lindsay a check board and her manifest and smiled, handing her a pen, though Lindsay had many pens in her locker back in the Nurses station, they were always given a new one along with the check board.

Once she'd received her manifest, she lifted the two pages in front telling her the rules and codes of conduct, she flicked them over so they rested away from the final page.

_Nurse: Lindsay Monroe_

_Tasks: Assisting the patient with anything he needs, I.e. baths, bandage changing, clothing, undressing. Anything the patient sees fit in a medical mannor._

_Do not take any crass comments or bad language from your patient, if they are rude to you in anyway you are to report to the chief of Nurses, Jane Fowler, or the leader of your base if any trouble arrises. _

_If the patient is in need of comfort, be jentle with your words, you are allowed to take part in conversation, to read to the patient, stay with them if you finish their time slot early._

_Warnings: If the patient seems iller than you thought or going into a worse stage, pull the red alarm cable beside the bed and a doctor will come and assist you. This can be used if the patient starts bleeding excessively, or has any other trauma that cannot be stopped by yourself._

_There is to be no fraternization with the patient whatsover, you cannot be romanticly involved with the patient, you are expected to emotionally steel yourself within this subject._

_Patient name: McCanna Llewellyn Taylor (Mac), formally known as Lieutenant Mac Taylor._

_Age: 33_

_Room No. 123_

_Injuries: Broken ribs, fractured tibia, head trauma and extensive bruising around the right eye, limited sight might be an issue._

_Lindsay, I trust you are capable of looking after Lieutenant Taylor without any problems. If there are any problems that occur, please notify either me or the head of the command base. As you have looked after a Lieutenant before, I trust you and Lieutenant Taylor will get on just fine. You are a fabulous Nurse Lindsay, that is precisely why I chose you for this one._

_Yours truly, Jane Fowler._

Lindsay flipped the paper back over and sighed, broken bones were always tough, the patients couldn't usually lift themselves, and it had said in the letter that the man she would be tending to, Lieutenant Taylor had quite a few broken bones. Broken ribs made it hard to move, fractured legs made it hard to walk, so physical therapy would be on his charter, head trauma might cause some disorientation, dizziness, he might not be able to see properly because of the eye brusing.

She felt honoured in a weird way, she would be tending to a Lieutenant, and usually Nurses of her grade were never given Lieutenants to look after, but Nurse Fowler trusted in her, so she'd have to prove that the Nurse had made the right decision.

As she made her way through the halls, on the way to room 123, she sighed, all the people with worse injuries than normal were placed in the left wing of the building, where rooms 120-140 were set out. As she entered the room, she sighed. Most of the patients in the room were sleeping, dosed up on medication to keep their pain at bay, glancing around the room, she noticed all but one were sleeping.

His voice startled her slightly, she looked up and saw the most beautiful pair of green eyes she'd ever seen. She pushed her admiration down and steeled herself.

"Are you my nurse? everyone in here has been tended to but me, are you Nurse Monroe?" He asked somewhat breathlessly. He had been stripped and dressed into a hospital gown, she assumed they'd given him a short bath, making sure he was clean for arrival.

"Yes. I am Nurse Monroe, nice to meet you Lieutenant, though maybe it would have been nicer on better circumstances."

He smiled slightly, through is pain. She put the check board into the slot at the end of his bed and moved forward, examining his facial wounds, his right eye was purple, closed up. So he only had vision through one eye.

He stayed quiet through the process of her cleaning his face. She tried to be as gentle as she could cleaning his eye, knowing it must be causing him a great deal of pain. She had been given hard medication for him, the doctors having decided not to put him on a drip, so she had poured him a glass of water and given him a paper cup containing the medication. He had gulped them down and had finished the water before she had even brought the sterile gloves and fluid out from the cabinet beside the bed.

Once she'd re-bandaged him up, he opened his eyes and smiled again, seeming grateful, though she didn't know why. She could tell he'd be asleep pretty soon with the way his eyes were slightly shut, she smiled and prepared to leave.

Before she could go, he stopped her.

"Wait, what is your name Nurse?" He asked weakly, shifting up slightly, grimacing through the pain from his ribs.

She smiled, standing in the doorway.

"Lindsay."

He smiled again slightly, "Goodnight Lindsay." He said, though he was normally meant to adress her as Nurse Monroe, she didn't mind, he was obviously drifting.

She smiled again, "Goodnight Lieutenant Taylor."

He closed his eyes and drifted away, the medication sending him on a lull. The last thing he remembered were the honey brown eyes of his Nurse.


	2. Soldiers in war

Disclaimer- I own nothing

_Thank god we won the war. Imagine what it would be like if the German's had won. O_o Can't even imagine. anyway, a few weeks back I watched an episode from season 5 'Yahrzeit', it was such a moving episode. (I'm normally not sappy with stuff like that haha) I love how Danny stuck up for Hawkes against that neo-nazi. but anyway, it kind of inspired me to write this because at the end you see Mac watching a video of a jewish man telling everyone about how he was saved...and at the end he said that the officer who saved him was "Private Mckenna Boyd Taylor." amazing really, it's one of my favorite episodes before all of the crap about Connor and Robert Dubrook comes into it and Jessica Angell is killed, blahdi blahdi blah. Season 5 was really good, I love how cold Lindsay is with Danny end of season 4 early season 5...bastard deserved it, I love Danny, but he cheated on Lindsay! Who does that! _

_Right, I'm going to stop ranting now and start writing._

_And always, sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes x_

Sunday 26th June, 1944

Lindsay sighed happily as she lay down in her bunk, pulling the covers tightly around her shoulders, even though she could feel the warm breeze coming in through the window she still felt the need to wrap up warm, even in June.

She was extremely happy to be in bed, her shift had ended at eight pm because she been in the OR. She had been slightly disappointed when nurse Fowler had come into the nurse's qaurters that morning telling her she would be standing in for nurse Anna Clayde in the OR instead of looking after Lieutenant Taylor.

She had learned nurse Julie Rodriguez and Jane that two more trucks worth of injured soldiers were due to come in, but Jane had assured all of the enquiring nurses that they would be looking after their assigned patients when they weren't assisting in the OR. Jane had been complaining that there wouldn't be enough room to accommodate everyone that would be coming in, Lindsay had ignored her because anyone who needed a doctor had a right to one.

Lindsay's relationships with the other nurses were always friendly, but she knew Stella better than anyone on the whole ward, it got lonely sometimes because she couldn't always see Stella. But she'd made a few friends. There was Doctor Sid Hammerback, she had met him on her first day at the hospital, she had been shaking she was that nervous and he had calmed her nerves, telling her that she'd do fine, and that he was sure she was a brilliant nurse. They had been great friends ever since. She knew Doctor Sheldon Hawkes from year one also, he had been in the OR the first time she had to assist, they got along easily, so from then on their friendship progressed and she often enjoying spending her breaks having coffe with him in the beak room. She was fairly familiar with Doctor Peyton Driscoll, she had met her through Sid, she was two years older than herself and had come over from London to America, and she had decided to come to the hospital in France to help out.

Thinking back, Lindsay missed her Mom, Dad and two younger brothers Eli and Stefan who were back home in Montana. Lindsay's parents Rosaleen and John Monroe had always been supportive of her dream to become a nurse. She thought back to a conversation she'd had with them a few years back.

_Lindsay having dinner with her family, smiling as Eli and Stefan made faces at each other from across the table. She pushed her plate aside and folded her hands, staring her parents dead on._

_"So, I want to be a nurse."_

_Rosaleen smiled "That's a good career choice. I'm not one of those mothers who wants her daughter to stay home, have the babies, then cook and clean til she dies. That's not the life for you, Darlin'."_

_John placed his knife and fork down too. "Yes, I agree with your mother, World war one ended in nineteen eighteen, I gaurentee there will be a second one at some point. This country will need nurses, especially people like you honey. We support you one hundred percent."_

_Lindsay smiled and took ahold of both of their hands togther, glad her parents were agreeing with her on this._

She knew she'd get to go back home once the war had ended, she listened to the radio every friday and sunday, awaiting news on what was going on. Though she had a good feeling the german's were losing, since America, France and England had all come together, the army had been unbeatable. Though she'd heard some English people grumble 'About bloody time those American's have come.' It made her laugh, but that person had been right, maybe we should have come in earlier than we did.

She felt tired enough to stop thinking, she turned on her side and let sleep take her, hoping she'd dream about something other than the war.

She woke up bright and early, before most of the people in the room. She dressed quietly and left to go to her mail box cubby located in the break room. She had one letter from Montana, the date on it was two weeks old, she sighed, no one ever got their mail on time during the war.

She found an envelope opener and sliced through the paper, she pulled out the paper and out fell a photograph, she picked it up and smiled at what she saw. It was her, her Mom, dad, Eli and Stefan. She held it close to her heart and un-folded the letter.

_Dearest Lindsay,_

_I hope you are doing well in France, I assure you that it is all boring and quiet here in Montana, though we do miss you very much. I cannot wait for this war to end so I can have my baby girl back home where she belongs. Though I know you won't stay home for long Darlin', you're destined for bigger things. Your Daddy and I always knew that, from the moment you were born._

_Eli and Stefan miss you, and we have a kitten now. We were down at one of those farmers markets, and there was one white kitten left out of a litter of six, and no one seemed to want her until Eli and Stefan laid eyes on her. I just couldn't say no, she was all on her own, I felt so sorry for her. Her name is snowflake because she's pure white, I helped the boys pick out the name. Your father isn't too happy about having a cat, but I'm sure he'll get over it._

_Lindsay, please write back as soon as you've got some free time. I know you won't get this for a while and that I won't get any letters from you for a while but it's always worth writing. You know we all love you and can't wait for you to come home._

_Take care Darlin', I love you._

_From Mom, dad, Eli and James, we hope you'll come home safte to us soon._

She smiled happily, planning on writing her Mom a letter later on, because she had the whole day ahead of her now. She was glad she would be seeing Lieutenant Taylor again, being in the OR wasn't too bad, but it got boring and it was usually long hard hours sometimes going over-time. But being assigned to a patient was much better, meaning she could leave whenever Lieutenant Taylor fell asleep.

She straightened out her uniform in the small mirror in the break room and ran her fingers through her hair, making sure she looked neat. That was one thing Jane loved to go on about constantly.

_"Make sure you look neat and clean, girls. I don't want any complaints."_

Of course they would all be clean and neat. In hospitals, it was priority that everything be germ-free so the patients wouldn't become iller than they already were.

She smiled nervously after glancing at her watch, it was time for her shift to start. She slowly made her way to the room where Lieutenant Taylor was currently staying and tried to be as quiet as she could while entering the room.

"As marines, we are trained to hear even the smallest sound." She jumped when she heard his voice, he was sitting up in bed reading a book, well sitting up as much as a person with broken ribs can.

She blushed and smiled, placing her board in the slot at the end of his bed. She got him some fresh water and gave him his medication, she cleaned his face and head then sat down in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs opposite his bed.

"You weren't here yesterday." He stated, glancing up at her.

"I was stepping in for someone in the OR. But I'm here for now, my supervisor made sure I knew I still had a patient to look after."

He smiled and nodded, admiring her looks, he'd been annoyed and disappointed when another nurse had walked into the room the previous morning, even though he'd known her barely a day, she was the only nurse he seemed to like.

She got up suddenly, "Would you like some food Lieutenant Taylor?"

He laughed and placed his book down earning himself a confused look from her.

"Please call me Mac, my soldiers call me Lieutenant, thank you for giving me the respect though."

She smiled "That's no problem. Jane told us that we would have to adress you using your formal name."

"Well I'm telling you that you can call me Mac. I don't mind."

"So, are you hungry?" She asked, shifting from foot to foot.

"Not really, I'll let you know when I am." He smiled, but he didn't pick his book back up, he continued to stare at her, eventually she sat back down in one of the chairs and crossed her legs.

The doors of the ward were pushed open and a gurney was wheeled in. Two men wearing scrubs lifted a man off of the gurney and onto the newly made up bed. Mac shifted slightly to the left in his bed, staring at the man they had just put in the bed.

"Is he stable?" Mac asked one of the men who had brought him in.

"Yes, Corporal Flack is stable, we think he's going to recover just fine."

Mac sighed with releif and slumped back against the pillows behind him.

Lindsay smiled sadly "You know him?"

"Yes, we have been friends for years, I got myself in this situation by saving him." Mac said, pointing to himself.

"Your a good man, putting yourself in danger to save a loved one, something I'd do if I were in that position."

"Yes. I have a few of my boys in here, Private Adam Ross and Private Danny Messer, they sustained fairly serious injuries, nothing fatal though, a few broken bones and bruises. Nothing pain killers won't take care of."

Lindsay smiled again and looked at him again. They stayed silent for a while, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, she was quite enjoying it.

"Where do you come from Lindsay?"

She smiled fondly, remembering the letter she had received from her family in the morning

"I'm from Bozeman Montana,I lived there with my mom, dad and two younger brother's."

He shifted to face her and smiled through the pain his ribs were causing him, wanting to hear her story more than he wanted to read that boring old book that sat on the table.

"What are their names?" He asked, looking mildly interested.

"My mother and father's names are Rosaleen and John, my brothers are Eli and Stefan. Do you have any family back home Mac?"

He grinned "I come from Chicago, and I have my father and mother. You see, I'm a junior, my father's name was McCanna Boyd Taylor and my mother's was Millie."

She nods, she hadn't had a patient who had talked to her this much since Jasper, and he had been special.

"I knew a Lieutenant once, his name was Lieutenant Jasper Caine...he died in a hospital in Nice. He was a special friend." She said, a distant look plaguing her eyes.

"I know his uncle." Mac said, causing Lindsay to stare at him wide eyed.

"His uncles name is Lieutenant Horatio Caine. They fought in the war together back in 1941, I was elsewhere at that time."

Lindsay smiled happily, "I'd love to meet Lieutenant Caine someday, tell him of his nephew's last weeks."

Mac smiled, "I'm sure he'd like very much for you to tell him."

She knew she would have to find out his current adress in order to send him a letter regarding Jasper, and it would take some time, but she knew with all her heart that she would try to make it happen as soon as she could.

A woman with a catering trolley brought in dinners for all of the patients in the room, Lindsay sat quietly while Mac ate his dinner, she had caught herself staring at him out of the corner of her eye a few times.

She just couldn't help it, he was very handsome, but in a somewhat strange way. He had unique looks, she wasn't ashamed thinking he was handsome, as long as she kept it to herself.

He had leefy green eyes and brown hair, pale skin that looked peachy when he was warm or blushing.

Before she could think anymore he cleared his throat, drawing her attention back up to his face.

"I'm thinking of putting in a complaint." The colour drained from Lindsay's face, white hot fear plaguing her.

"About the food, it's disgusting." He laughed when he noticed how pale she had become.

She sighed and gave him a flustered look. "I thought you were going to complain about me then, I'd surely lose my job if you had."

He chuckled "I woudn't do that, you are a superb nurse, beautiful too. Why would I complain?"

She blushed slightly "I don't know, for not calling you Lieutenant Taylor, maybe?"

He chuckled again and shook his head, "No, I'm allowing you to call me by my first name, so there shouldn't be a problem."

She smiled softly "Good. And yes, the food here isn't very nice." she said, pointing to his leftovers.

He grimaced whilst looking at it and pushed the plate further away from him, taking a sip of water to wash away the left over tase from his mouth.

She glanced at her watch and realised with sadness that her shift had five minutes until it was over.

He noticed her expression change and grabbed her hand, making her glance up with a shocked expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" He asked, demanding an answer.

"My shift ends in five minutes, that's all."

He chuckled and moved back. "Don't worry; you'll see my handsome face again tomorrow."

She tapped him lightly on the hand "Don't gloat now."

He smiled, "I'll try not to."

She rose and made sure everything was in order before she took her leave, she knew someone would be in to give him his night medication later so she didn't have to worry about anything more.

"Goodbye Mac." She said, standing by the door.

"Goodbye Lindsay, I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled, sounding so sure of everything.

She smiled and left, going back to the nurses qaurters for some quiet time.

She lay in her bed like she had the night before and began thinking of everything she had learned today. She would have to write her family back, and Lieutenant Caine at some point. She yawned tiredly and put that thought to rest, knowing she could think about it tomorrow.

_I'm not quite sure how I feel about this chapter, it took me a few attempts writing it. Well be good and review, thank you. - Natalie._


	3. Pull through

Disclaimer- I own nothing

_I'm sorry for my mistakes in the last chapter...was quiet tired whilst writing that. And don't worry, it's not late while I'm writing this, so things should be much better. - Natalie_

_Another thing, Sorry if things aren't exactly historically acurate, I'm not a walking textbook haha._

_Now here, we have a little Bonamesser. _

Stella Bonasera sat down in the break room, lifting a few pages over on the clip board that Jane Fowler had just given her, at the beginning of the week, Jane had told her she would be in the OR working graveyard shifts full time starting at 9pm and ending at 7am.

Things had changed on Sunday when 60 more injured people had arrived at the hospital, on Monday morning Jane had found her and had proceeded to tell her that she wouldn't be in the OR for that week, she would be assigned to a patent until further notice.

Stella had groaned inwardly upon hearing the news, she wasn't a very patient woman, and when it came to patents, dealing with them had never been her strong point. What was worse was that her shift started in less than half an hour. Jane hadn't given her much time to go over the patents documentation, another thing that had pissed her off, it was safe to say that her week wasn't going very well, she hadn't seen her best friend Lindsay in almost five days, she missed their talk and silly-ness, because of the shift change, they had been put on completely different hours. Stella knew that Lindsay would be working during the day, and hopefully now that she would be babying some uptight soldier, she'd get to see Lindsay more often.

She would be nursing Private Danny Messer, 29 years old, from New York. She smiled faintly, she'd been an orphan in New York, until she had figured herself out, she planned to go back there once the war was over.

Sometimes she wondered why she worked so hard, why she had become a nurse only to work long hours cleaning up after people who couldn't do it themselves. Maybe, just maybe she would be lousy at anything else. She glanced at her watch, knowing she would have to leave now in order to arrive on time for her shift, she folded the papers over and got up, making sure she looked presentable before leaving the room.

Private Messer would be staying in room no. 145 that wasn't situated too far away from the break room, making things easier for her. Upon arrival, she noticed that there were only two beds occupied in the room, and both men were sleeping, there had been no picture on the clip board so she would have to wake both up in order to learn which of them was Private Messer.

She walked closer so she stood at the foot of the beds and cleared her throat, hoping the two men would awake from their slumber, unfortunately for her, they didn't move an inch. She sighed, rolling her eyes and clapped her hands loudly, hoping to shock the men awake.

"Come on now, wake up." She said, trying not to sound as annoyed as she was. She was shocked when the first man shot up, opening sparkling baby blues, he was a real looker. The second man had dark blue eyes, a beard and medium brown hair, baby blue eyes had mousy brown hair with specks of blonde here and there.

"Can I ask which of you is Private Danny Messer?"

Baby blues lifted his head and smiled meekly, "I'm Danny Messer."

The other smiled too, "I'm Private Adam Ross." he said shyly, a light blush covering his cheeks. Suddenly, Stella felt a lot better than she had earlier that morning, she came around to the right side of Private Messer's bed and flipped back her clip board file.

"I am nurse Stella Bonasera, I have been assigned as your nurse for the time being until you recover enough to be sent home or wherever it is that you will be going."

Danny smiled, he couldn't believe his eyes, the previous day he had been told he would have a grumpy old nurse named Clarissa Carver who was in her late fifties by the looks of it.

"I thought nurse Carver had been assigned to me." Stella smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"Would you prefer her as your nurse?" Danny's eyes widened considerably as he began to shake his head furiously.

"No, Ma'am. I would prefer you, over anyone here." He said, blushing slightly.

Stella smiled again, "Well that's settled then." She turned to Adam gave him a polite smile before moving to the end of their beds again.

"I do not know who your nurse will be, Private Ross, but I assure you she will be here soon." Adam nodded again shyly before turning to stare at the door, as if on cue, nurse Kendall Novak entered the room. She was a pretty blond, tall and very friendly, she and Stella got on like a house on fire, another thing for Stella to be happy about.

Adam's eyes lit up a little when Kendall told him that she would be his nurse, Stella and Kendall exchanged looks every so often when they were taking care of the nursing duties, sharing a secret smirk. It had been a while since either of them had been given such young soldiers to look after, the last patient Stella had been assigned to had been in his mid forties and crankier than anyone she had ever met.

Once Stella had made sure Private Messer was well and able to manage on his own for the remainder of the evening, she folded the documentation over and prepared to leave.

"Stella?"

She turned around and saw Danny, a saddened look having taken shape upon his features.

"Yes, is there something wrong?"

Danny shook his head, "Well no, yes, not exactly. My family don't know I am here, would it be possible for me to write them a letter, I have my family, Louie, Alphonse and Clamenza at home, they are my only family who live in America, they live on Staten Island, New York. The rest are in Italy."

Stella sighed "I'll have someone send up some paper and ink, you let your family know you're safe."

Danny nodded "Thank you...means a lot."

Stella nodded, smiling politely at Adam and Danny before leaving the room. She was due a break, and there would be no questioning that.

Lindsay entered the ward and noticed that the blue curtain had been pulled around Mac's bed, she frowned slightly, knowing that wasn't the norm. She quickly pulled it back and saw blood stained sheets. She felt her heart fall into the pit of her stomach, white hot fear flashing behind her eyes. Before she could even think she was running towards the OR as fast as she could. Nearby doctor's and nurse's just stared as she ran past them.

She threw open the doors of the OR and looked around, trying to find him.

"Where is he!" She yelled, getting the attention of a few doctors working around her. They stayed silent, making her angrier by the second.

"Where is Lieutenant Taylor?" She repeated, her heart threatening to burst from her chest.

The double doors in the back opened and out came Sheldon, wearing blue scrubs and normal surgery gear. She panicked as he came to stand in front of her.

"He fell off the bed, causing two of his broken ribs to puncture something, causing internal bleeding, we've stabalized him, but he's still in critical condition." He said, not going into detail about what had been punctured.

"Tell me Sheldon. I can handle it."

"No, you don't need to hear it. He'll pull through, you know he will."

Lindsay breathed heavily, pushing some hair away from her face. "Can I see him?"

Sheldon sighed, "He's not looking good, Linds...but as your his nurse, I can't stop you."

She sighed and looked down, trying to regain her breath and common sense. Sheldon wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

"Lieutenant Taylor is strong, Linds. I am very sure that he will pull through."

Lindsay sighed again. "I'm going to see him...he might need me when he wakes up."

Sheldon nodded and gave her a gentle squeeze before heading into one of the staff bathrooms to change out of his operating clothing.

Lindsay felt her heart leap as she entered the OR ward Mac had been staying in. What she saw made her feel sick, there were a total of six beds in the ward, holding the soldiers who had suffered the worst of the injures. People who had been blown up more severely than Corporal Flack, missing limbs, gun shot trauma, you name it.

She gulped as she approached the last bed of three on the left side. He was hooked up to an oxygen machine, a drip and some other tubes for medicine. His skin looked pale, paler than usual. They had dressed him in some hospital pyjamas, the shirt he wore had been left open, revealing a large patch of gauze and bandages covering his chest. He was spleeping. She had been frightened, and thought that if the heart moniter hadn't been beeping she would have thought he was gone, but she trusted Sheldon's medical work and his judgement, so she knew he would most likely pull through.

She pulled up an ugly uncomfortable blue plastic chair next to his bed and sat down. All she could do was stare at him, hope he would open those beautiful green eyes again soon. Hope he would pull through this.

A tap on her shoulder brought her out of her daze, she glanced up and saw Jane, who was currently giving her a sympathetic look.

"I'm sure Lieutenant Taylor will be fine. I have talked to Doctor Hawkes and he has assured me that Lieutenant Taylor has been stabalized and will begin to heal soon."

Lindsay nodded, not replying. She knew the prognosis and trusted every word that came from his mouth.

"I trust Sheldon's judgement." She said when Jane hadn't left for a few minutes.

"Yes. I would like you to and collect Lieutenant Taylor's belongings, they will be here with him until he is well enough to be transfered back to the normal ward."

Lindsay nodded, "Sure. How is Corporal Flack doing?"

Jane blushed and smiled, "He woke up this morning, he is quite the charmer."

Lindsay smiled, "I'm sure." She said before leaving to go to Lieutenant Taylor's ward. She knew he had said she could call him Mac, but under these circumstances, she wouldn't be caught out.

She entered the room and approached the bed, seeing Corporal Flack sat up, leaning against his pillows as he read one of the books Mac had been given.

He glanced up when she had entered and abruptly placed his book down, he blushed slightly on her arrival, only because she resembled a painting of a woman he had seen in America a few years back. His mother had bought the painting at a market, and it had been on the wall in their living room for years, and the girl who stood in front of him looked so much like her, it was unreal.

"Good morning, Corporal...your well I assume?"

He nodded and she smiled, going to the side of Mac's bed, retreiving his belongings. She felt a frown come, she tried to contain herself, hope that he'll pull through.

"Where is Mac, Lieutenant Mac Taylor? I was told that he was staying here in this room." asked the Corporal, looking at Lindsay questioningly.

She sighed and placed Mac's things down, she sat down in the chair that sat across from the Corporal's bed. She took hold of one of his hands, not noticing how he blushed again.

"He came out of surgery this morning, he is in the intensive care until, his internal bleeding was worse than they thought. But the doctors are very hopeful that he will recover."

The Corporal squeezed her hand tightly, a tear rolling down his cheek. Lindsay could feel tears coming to her eyes too, hoping Mac would be alright. She returned the squeeze and didn't release his hand, she moved closer to it would be easier for him to hold it.

"How do you know him?" The Corporal asked after his tears had subsided.

"I am his nurse, I have only know him barely a week. He has an effect on everyone as it seems."

"Yes, I have known him since I first joined the army, back in 1939...I know it's only six years, but I owe that man everything."

Lindsay placed a hand on his face, "He will pull through, I'm sure of it."

"And if not?"

"Don't think about it Corporal, he will be fine...they have him stabalized."

"Please call me Don. I know you're not supposed to, but I'd prefer if you did.

"Ok Don...Lieutenant Taylor is the same, he will scold me every time I use his title, he won't have it."

Don smiled faintly, "Something we've always had in common. My girlfriend Jessica was killed last year in an air raid attack, things haven't been quite the same since, and now Mac. I loved Jessica, and I love Mac...I can't lose him too." Don said, tears falling again.

Lindsay moved forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulder's gently, stroking his hair as he cried.

"You won't lose him. I promise."

"You can't promise that...what if.." She cut him off, "Yes, I'm an optimist."

"Ok. I hope you're right."

After some time she had sat back in her chair, the tears had stopped thankfully.

"What is your name?" He asked, looking curious.

"Lindsay Monroe."

"A lovely name..." He smiled, chuckling when she blushed. She glanced at her watch and gasped.

"I really must go. I was told to bring the Lieutenant's things over to ICU. It was lovely meeting you Corporal."

"Don...remember. come back soon though."

"I will." She said, smiling as she left.

She took a deep breath as she entered the ICU, walking slowly towards Mac's bed were he lay sleeping, hooked up to everything. She hoped he'd be ok...he had too many people counting on him. She knew somewhere deep down that he wasn't going anywhere, but it still made her sad to think about it.

She placed his belongings into the identical cabinet to the side of the bed, closing the little door and sitting in the chair pulled next to his bed. She took hold of his hand and kept it there until Jane walked into the room, she grimaced when she saw where Lindsay's hands were.

"Remember Lindsay, no fraternizing."

Lindsay sighed and gave Jane a pointed look, "I would never do that Jane, you know that."

Jane nodded, Lindsay sighed and glanced back to Mac's sleeping form.

"Corporal Flack cried earlier. This man here means a lot to a lot of people."

Jane smiled sadly, "He never asked when I was there."

"I think someone told him that I am Lieutenant Taylor's nurse."

"Yes. Well you're free to go now if you'd like. It's a lot quieter around here now that everyone has their jobs to do."

"Thank you, Jane. I appreciate that."

"You're welcome. See you tomorrow." Jane said, leaving the room. Lindsay knew she could leave, but she wanted to spend some more time with Mac, she felt butterflies inside when she thought about him, even though she'd only known him a short while, he had taken a great effect.

"Hey stranger." Lindsay turned around and saw Stella standing in the door way, it was all she could do not to bolt up and throw her arms aorund the other girl.

"I have missed you so much this week, it's unreal." She whispered, even though she knew Mac wouldn't be waking up any time soon.

"I know, I have been assigned to a patient. So you'll be seeing a lot more of me now." Lindsay grinned as Stella pulled a plastic chair up next to hers.

"So, who is this man." Stella asked, pointing to Mac.

"Lieutenant Mac Taylor, internal bleeding crept up on him yesterday. Hawkes said he should do ok though."

"He's quite handsome, you're lucky." She said, making Lindsay blush.

"Stell, you know being romantically involved with the patients is absolutely forbidden."

"Unfortunately." Stella said, rolling her eyes.

"So, who have you been assigned to?"

"Private Danny Messer, he's quite the looker too, you know."

Lindsay smiled sadly and turned her head towards Mac, "I know of him, Mac was talking about him the other day."

"Yes. I've heard he's quite important."

"Yes, I have met Corporal Flack, but that's it...I've heard of Adam, Danny and Don. But I have only met Don."

"I met Adam and Danny today, they're very charming, I assure you. How was the Corporal?"

"He cried in my arms, and by the end, he told me to come back tomorrow."

Stella nodded, "Private Ross seemed happy to have Kendall as his nurse."

"I'm sure, Kendall is very good at impressing those around her."

"Don't we all know it."

"Yes. Jane warned me again about being involved with patients, just because she saw me holding Mac's hand."

"She can be annoying sometimes. And there is one question I'd like to ask."

Lindsay nodded, "Do you like this man here. You know you can trust me."

Lindsay shushed her, got up and looked outside, making sure no one was around to hear. She closed the door, making a perfect sound barrier.

Lindsay sighed as she sat down again.

"Maybe. There's something about him that gives me butterflies." Stella clapped her hands excitedly, making girly noises.

"Ooh, maybe you'll marry once the war is over."

"Stella! I have know him a week, you make it seem like I'm in love with him."

"Maybe you are, love at first sight?"

Lindsay shook her head, blushing.

"No. I don't think so...the attraction is there, though I imagine I'm invisible to him."

"So, is Danny cute?" Lindsay asked, changing the subject. Stella raised a brow but let it slide, leaving the younger girl to contemplate her feelings on her own.

"Yes, he's from New York, has the accent and everything, blue eyes and brown hair with hints of blond."

"Lovely, and Adam?"

"He's slightly more porky than Danny, but he's cute all the same, he has a slight beard, blue eyes and brown hair."

"You know, we really shouldn't be adressing them by their first names, though Don and Mac have already told me they'd prefer if I used their first name."

"Yes, but it makes it all the more exciting."

"Jane would have our heads."

"I know."

"Good. So we need to be more careful."

Stella sighed and nodded, while Lindsay stared at Mac again, hoping he'd wake up soon.

"Do you think he'll pull through?" Lindsay asked, hoping for an honest answer.

"Of course he will, I've heard that he's a hard ass. I'm sure he will."

Lindsay glanced at her watch and decided that it was late enough to retire for the night, she glanced at Mac again, wishing he were well enough to wake up.

She rose from the uncomfortable chair and waited as Stella followed her, they both made their way back to the nurse dorm slowly, not caring about the time.

"So, will I be seeing more of you now?" Lindsay asked, hoping she would.

"Yes. I'm going to ask Jane if I can be moved to your dorm since we're working the same hours now."

"That would be great, I sometimes get sick of Julie Rodriguez and her big mouth, all of the other girls in the dorm literally kiss her feet."

"I agree, she thinks to highly of herself."

"Yes, you're lucky you have Peyton and Kendall in your dorm, making sure you don't go stir crazy."

"Yes, I guess I am very lucky. I'd probably go crazy to if I had to put up with Julie Rodriguez daily."

Stella smiled, "Well I'm going to try and get some sleep tomorrow, if we have the same breaks, I will come to Lieutenant Taylor's ward, assuming you'll be there?"

"Yes." Lindsay sighed, moving forward to hug her friend.

"Sleep well Linds, don't stay up worrying about him, he'll be fine."

"Ok. Goodnight."

"And you."

Lindsay sighed greatfully on entering the dorm, Julie and three of the other girls were sleeping leaving a girl with light brown hair who she'd never seen before. The girl looked up and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Kennedy Chase." Lindsay reutrned the smile and sat on her bed facing the girl.

"Lindsay Monroe. Nice to meet you."

"I'm glad I've met you, I met the other four girls in this dorm earlier, they all seem to follow the tall blonde girl, I think her name was Julie."

Lindsay smiled, "Finally, another person who isn't completely up Julie's backside."

"I can't stand her." Kennedy said, grinning, her green eyes sparkling.

"I don't think any normal person can. We've disliked each other since day one. I came to France first, I'd been here a while before her."

"I intimidated her because I knew my way around here and knew what I was doing. She hated rookie status, so I became her number one target because I am one of the few newbies."

"So, have you been assigned?" Lindsay asked curiously.

"Yes, Tim Speedle. He lost both legs, as you could imagine, he's not very talky at the moment. He's angry at everything, mutters things. Says he wished they would have left him to die out there."

"Oh, well my patent is currently in the ICU. Internal bleeding, I'm optimistic though."

Kennedy smiled sadly, "It's always hard when a patent is in limbo or close to dying, things could go either way."

Lindsay nodded, "I have experienced the same thing before. Lieutenant Jasper Caine, he died and I was his nurse."

"Don't hold yourself accountable, Lindsay. Things can go wrong."

Lindsay sighed, "I know, but I felt so bad after, his mother and sister were waiting for him to come home, and he never did. Imagine that kind of pain?"

"It's not your fault though. And whether your patent will recover or not is in the balance, you won't be held accountable."

"Thank you." was all Lindsay could think of saying, giving the new girl a small smile.

"Well, you're welcome."

"Where are you from?" Lindsay asked, noticing the slight twang in her voice.

"Texas, arkansas."

"That's great, I'm from Montana."

"Nice, but there's nothin' short of Wyoming is there."

"Pretty much. Bozeman is pretty empty."

Lindsay smiled and grabbed her night gown, going into the bathroom, locking herself into the cubicle to change.

When she had returned, Kennedy was reading a book, not paying much attention.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, goodnight." Lindsay said, before climbing into her bed.

"You too. I hope we can be friends."

"Me too."

"Goodnight."

"Night."

Danny Messer groaned in pain as he sat up in bed. It was dark outside so he assumed it was night, broken ribs and bruised weren't anything to cry about, but the pain still hadn't lessened. He glanced over at Adam, smiling as his friend was out cold. Adam could sleep through anything, it amazed people how he never woke up, even in loud enviroments.

The hallways had a faint glow meaning the night staff were still awake, Danny pressed the buzzer, hoping someone would come. Sure enough a tall woman with defined features, brown hair and blue eyes entered the room. She looked young, and defintely didn't look like a nurse.

"I'm Doctor Peyton Driscoll, what can I do for you?"

Danny shifted and winced slightly, "I think I'm due some more pain-killers. The pain woke me up."

She smiled, "Ok. I'll be back in a few moments."

She returned with a plastic cup containing two pills and a glass of water, she handed the medication and water to him and watched as he swallowed them down.

"Thank you, Doctor."

"You're welcome, goodnight Private Messer."

He smiled as she left, wondering how she knew his name, unless his nurse that he had caught himself dreaming about had told her of his name. He found that he couldn't get Stella out of his head, her pretty face, eyes, even her hair. She was impossible to forget.

He soon began to feel sleepy, effects from the pain-killers obviously. He smiled faintly and leant back, pulling the covers up, letting sleep take him. Hoping he'd dream about Stella, because she was a face he wouldn't soon forget.


End file.
